A permanent and stable solution for the recurring floods in Assam

Assam is facing the worst flood to have occured in the last 29 years. This year two waves of severe flood have maimed the state within a span of few weeks. Over 10 lakh people have been displaced, homes and properties destroyed, agricultural lands submerged, crops destroyed, livestock lost, wildlife lost and precious human life have been lost in the floods this year.

The Brahmaputra Valley in Assam is one of the most hazard-prone regions of the country, with more than 40% of its land (3.2 million hectares) susceptible to flood damage. This is 9.4% of the coutry's total flood prone area. About 7% of land in the state's 17 riverine districts has been lost because of river erosion over the past 50 years, rendering a large number of people homeless and deprived of means of livlelihood.

Floods have been a perennial threat to the people of Assam since history. And every year is a repeat of loss of life and property to the swelling waters of the Brahmaputra and its tributaries. Since 1954, over 4.2 lakh hectares of land has been lost to erosion, that’s over 7.1% of the state. With 80% of the famous Kaziranga National Park submerged, Assam’s pride – the one-horned Rhinos and other wildlife across the state, have had to face the brunt of the floods. As of now, the human casualty is tolled at 150 and about 255 wildlife caracasses have been recovered. After the recession of the first wave of the 2017 floods, acres and acres of agricultural land have been rendered useless due to sand deposition. This is a grave loss for the agricultural output of the state.Damage to property has also been huge, entire villages are displaced and people have been forced to take shelter in the embankments. And every day new breaches of embankments occur leading to flooding of newer areas.

There have been excess focus on structural solutions rather than natural flood control mechanism based on local topography, which is essential in finding a long term solution.

We hope the present government will work in accordance to the Prime Minister's "Transforming India" motto and will genuinely try to find a permanent solution to this ominous affliction haunting the people of Assam.